Lunches

Think outside the lunchbox and encourage your children to choose school meals! They are the best deal in town:

$1.50 for breakfast in all schools,

$2.40 for elementary school lunch,

$2.50 for middle school lunch and

$2.75 for high school lunch.

Adults pay $1.85 for breakfast and $3.55 for lunch in school cafeterias.

In addition to offering great value, school meals are a huge convenience for busy families. Schools provide nutritious breakfasts and lunches, offering milk, fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains and meeting strict limits on saturated fat and portion size.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other items that obviously contain peanuts have been removed from school menus. Many cafeterias provide peanut-aware tables where students are not to have peanuts or peanut products. Diet modifications can be made for students who are lactose intolerant or gluten intolerant or who have life-threatening food allergies.

A mobile app makes it easy to find out what’s being served in Chesterfield County Public Schools. The free app — School Lunch by Nutrislice — can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. Also, the school system’s website provides a link: mychesterfieldschools.nutrislice.com. App users simply choose the school they are interested in, select breakfast or lunch, then view detailed nutritional information (including possible allergens) about the entrees and side dishes available each day. Because food and ingredients change from year to year, parents need to check ingredients annually if their child has food allergies.

Meals may not be charged at any school. Parents or students must pay in advance usingMySchoolBucks.com or by sending cash or checks to the school cafeteria.

To apply for free or reduced-price meals, families must complete an application. Only one application is needed per family, and forms are available in school offices, school cafeterias, at mychesterfieldschools.com or by calling 743-3717.

For the 2016-17 school year, the reduced fees will be waived so that students who qualify for reduced-price breakfasts and lunches will receive them free.

Other food Chesterfield schools encourage healthy snacks and limit celebrations that involve food during the school day. Many students have food sensitivities that can lead to life threatening reactions. At home, parents can manage the foods their children are exposed to. Managing exposure at school is more of a challenge, so schools take reasonable steps to meet that challenge by asking all parents to follow four simple guidelines:

If you bring food to your child at school, do not bring food for anyone else’s child and do not share your food with any other child.

If you wish to send treats for other students, for a birthday or any other celebration, send non-food treats such as pencils, bookmarks, etc.

Unless specifically asked to do so, do not send any food to school for consumption by other students.

Talk to your children about the problems associated with sharing food at school and discourage them from doing so.

If you have questions, it’s best to ask your child’s teacher about guidelines for food in the classroom. You can find more information about school lunches and nutrition and the free lunch forms on our district website.